Marketing Jargon: Go-To-Market Planning vs. Product Launch Planning
Words matter.
As so often happens in the jargon-rich environment of Corporate America, sometimes clarity often takes a back seat and leads to misconceptions.
Recently, some colleagues and I debated the difference between “Go-To-Market planning” and “Product Launch planning” which are often used interchangeably but serve distinct purposes. You might see those two terms and quickly discern the difference, but I can tell you a lot of smart people get these two concepts confused and it’s up to the Product Marketing person to translate.
With that in mind, here’s my good deed for the day – my explanation of the difference between GTM and Product Launch. And then you can tell me what I’ve forgotten or how I’ve messed it up in the comments section.
Go-To-Market (GTM): A Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy is a comprehensive company-level plan that outlines how the organization will offer its products or services to the market effectively. Think of it as the 4P's of Marketing - Product, Place, Price, and Promotion. It involves target audience identification, product development roadmaps, pricing strategies, sales or distribution channels, competitive analysis that shapes product positioning, and marketing strategies.
The GTM strategy serves as a guiding roadmap for aligning various departments within an organization, like product, marketing, sales, and customer experience, towards successful market entry and sustained success.
The Go-To-Market strategy should be continually reviewed and agreed upon by the executive team as it informs every aspect of the company's decision-making and guides it toward market dominance.
Product Launch: Product launch planning is a detailed plan outlining the steps and activities involved in introducing a new product or service to the market. It's the hands-on effort of getting a new product into customers' hand – setting timelines, creating buzz, and ensuring everything is in place.
The Product Launch plan can be successfully owned by various roles, including Product Marketing, Product Management, Agile Ops, Marketing Campaign Management, or Corporate Project Management. However, regardless of the role, a single person should own the plan and facilitate collaboration and communication among the involved teams.
Product launches should always align to the strategy set out in the GTM strategy.
In a nutshell, GTM planning is the overarching strategic vision where, conversely, the Product launch is the tactical execution. Your company may have multiple product launches, and ideally, they should all align with and support your Go-To-Market strategy.
A word of caution: Without a well-defined and widely communicated GTM, your product launches are unlikely to support your company's growth. A product launch without an underlying GTM strategy is akin to fueling a race car without a steering wheel - it might move, but it’ll never win.
Agree? Disagree? Something to add? Let me know in the comments section.